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06-13-2006, 12:12 AM
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#1 | ||
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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Chaos on the Cathedrals of Green-An OOTP 2006 Dynasty
A new Century begins, and a new era dawns for the still young game of Professional Baseball. Despite emerging as the one of the leading pastimes in America, the game has already encountered its share of Turmoil. The landscape of previous Seasons is littered with the rubble of drawn out battles with now defunct Leagues such as the American Association, the Players League and the Union Association.
With clubs based in New York, Brooklyn, St Louis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago and Cincinnati, the National League now holds a grip on the East Coast, and the only Midwestern towns its owners deem important. Across the land scores of other “professional” Leagues dot the American Landscape, among them, the Pacific Coast League, the Southern League, the Texas League and the Western Association. While most are content with their place in the shadow of the National League, the Western Association, led by an industrious Sportsman named Ban Johnson is determined to take its place alongside the National Teams as a second Major League. Announcing plans to expand into the National Leagues territory for the beginning of the 1900 Season, Johnson is promptly slapped with an injunction by the National League owners alleging that these plans pose a threat to their “territorial rights.” The National League Owners call for operating impunity within their established regions and ask that no Western League Team be allowed to conduct games within a 200 mile radius of any National League club. With great flair the National’s Attorneys argue that the matter must be delayed until a proper hearing can be scheduled in the off Season and that failure to do so could “rip the very foundation from beneath our great game, scattering the remnants of the beloved pastime across a desolate landscape financial ruin” Despite arguments that any impact felt by the National League owners, would also be felt by Johnson, who also had a League to run, the Judge, a supposed friend of Brush, accepted the motion to delay proceedings until the completion of 1900 Baseball Season, when a proper hearing could be scheduled. Content that they had weathered the storm, the Elite Eight as they now called themselves, returned to their respective cities and prepared to play the 1900 Season…..As the only Game in town. |
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06-13-2006, 12:14 AM
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#2 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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Background
Edit
I deleted the old thread and am starting new since I want a cleaner format for the Stats. As mentioned this will be a OOTP2006 Dynasty (With a touch of Puresim thrown in for the first Season) It was originally planned to be an alternate reality of the History of Baseball, but a glitch in the OOTP AI has added a twist. Adding the PCL as an 8 team, unaffliated Minor League was done just to allow old Players or those not good enough to make Major League Rosters a place to play. However, due to their unaffiliated status the PCL enters the competition for Free Agents and prepares to make it's claim as a third Major League. A caveat, if you can call it that (more like another glitch) is that players signed by the PCL still have their stats accumulated in the Major League Almanac, so while Babe Ruth may lead the Majors in Home Runs when all is said and done, will it be as a Yankee? Will he remain in Boston? Or, could the Homerun King be a San Francisco Seal? I have no clue how this will play out and hopefully it will be interesting. Events in the upcoming back Story will lead to a form of Free Agency and cut throat bidding for the services of Players. As I am playing commisioner only there will be no House rules and minimal if any interference with the course of history as it plays out. The 1900 Season is played with Puresim, since OOTP won't give me what I want. |
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06-13-2006, 12:15 AM
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#3 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1900 Summary
Chris Von der Ahe’s Cardinals led by veteran Jesse Burkett .365 6 112 and Rookie Mike Donlin .308 6 87 with 105 runs scored pulled away from the pack early on their way to an impressive 18 game runaway in capturing the first World title of the 20th Century. Speedy Shortstop Bobby Wallace, whose 32 steals and .290 batting average formed a formidable middle infield combo with slap hitting Bill Keister .340 to set the table. It wasn’t all hitting as Cy Young and Jack Powell each went 20-7 with 2.40 and 2.74 ERA’s respectively. The Pirates made it interesting at times paced by Ginger Beaumont who hit .301 to go with a League leading 45 Steals and 119 runs scored. 3B Jimmy Williams supplied the pop for the Bucs hitting .293, while driving in an even 100. Fireballing head case Rube Waddell headed up the Pitching staff at 18-8 2.57 and a circuit best 152 K’s. Still lack of depth cost the Pirates who faded badly in August. Von der Ahe proudly proclaimed his team the kings of Baseball, and further went on to state that last winters court ruling. “Only saved the top team in the upstart Western League, from the embarrassment of finding out in head to head play.”
Code:
In addition to cleaning up on the Post Season Awards, the dominant Cardinals placed 9 players on the Post Season All-Star Team led by the trio above. Others of note included Honus Wagner of Pittsburgh, Elmer Flick and Nap Lajoie of Philadelphia, George Davis of New York and Joe Kelly of Brooklyn. Notable trades included Philadelphia shipping Roy Thomas .286 4 51 to New York for George Van Haltren .293 0 30, and Boston sending Home Run king Buck Freeman .282 8 76 to New York for Elmer Smith .289 5 38, who would never play another game in the Majors after 1900, retiring at the age of 34. St Louis, as if it needed more help also picked up veteran Ed Delahanty .313 1 68, from Philadelphia for 1B Dann McGann, who went on to finish just .263 4 66 for the Phillies. On the injury front Sam Mertes of the Reds suffered a serious leg injury in August that sidelined him for the rest of the year, while Boston C Boileryard Clarke went down to a Back injury on September 1st that places his 1901 Season in jeopardy. The wily 32 yr old was hitting .260 at the time of the mishap. |
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06-13-2006, 12:16 AM
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#4 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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Rumblings from the West
Midway through the 1900 Season DW Griffith a key investor in the fledgling Moving Picture industry and president of the PCL telegrammed Ban Johnson. Based in the rural Los Angeles suburb of Hollywood the PCL was the main League on the West Coast with teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Seattle, Salt Lake, Tacoma and Portland. Griffith proposed the PCL and the Western League merge to form a 16 Team league that would include a best of 7 battle for the Temple Cup between the two League winners.
Johnson, wary of the looming suit with the National League dismissed the proposal as impractical, feeling that Griffith was an eccentric novice whose Teams were not on equal footing with the Western Leagues clubs. Insulted by the perceived slight, Griffith responded tersely, indicating that the PCL was prepared to compete for the services of players from both Leagues, with or without the support of Johnson. Johnson, again brushed off what he considered an idle threat, wished Griffith well with his aspirations, and turned his attention back to the impending legal battles now scheduled for January, 1901. The stage was now set as Griffith sought additional investors among his many connections, to bolster the PCL's coffers, in preparation for an all out war with the haughty Leagues from the east. |
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06-13-2006, 12:17 AM
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#5 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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Thunder of the Gavel
A tumultuous off Season began with the December announcement by Ban Johnson that the Western League, would be renamed the American League, and commence operation as a second Major League beginning in April of 1901. The announcement called for trimming the circuit from ten to eight teams by folding Franchises in Hartford and Oklahoma City. In addition a relocation plan was outlined moving Newark to Philadelphia, Indianapolis to Chicago and Providence to Boston, which would result in direct competition with National League teams in those markets. The remaining five Teams (Milwaukee, Baltimore, Detroit, Cleveland and Washington) would remain in their existing Markets.
The threat of direct competition caused disdain in Chicago and Philadelphia where the Wrigley’s and Al Reach promised to crush the upstarts at the turnstiles. Boston, however, was a different story. News came that the powerful Kennedy clan would assume majority ownership of the Providence squad, to be renamed the Americans. This and the groundbreaking on the massive Huntington Avenue grounds prompted a nervous ownership to ponder a move to recently vacated Hartford. The proposal drew the ire of the remaining seven National League owners, who still held firm in their belief that these plans would be dashed by an anticipated victory in court come January. The January hearings were highly charged as the National League owners insisted that they retained exclusive contractual rights to all Players in their League, and as such held reserve on these Players as long as they played Professional Baseball. They also introduced a motion that “Major League” status brought territorial rights, therefore no other Professional Team could enter into direct competition in National League cities. Johnson’s attorneys went to work, picking holes in the basic premise of the National Leagues filings and demanded that all motions be thrown out in the name of free enterprise. As closing arguments approached, the haughty National League owners, buoyed by powerful connections anticipated a decisive victory. The uproar that ensued when the Judge ruled in favor of the upstart American League on all counts rocked Manhattan and sent the elite Eight reeling. He not only ruled that the National League had no reserves on current or former National League Players, therefore they could accept employment offers from a competing “business”, but he also upheld Johnson’s rebuttal that the proposed “territorial rights” clause violated free market competition and that the American League could place Teams in whatever markets it deemed practical. As both sides regrouped and prepared for the next faze of the battle…..A voice from the West re-emerged and the words that emanated from the mouth of DW Griffith set both sides back on their Heels. |
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06-13-2006, 12:18 AM
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#6 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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A new player in Town
Los Angeles Times
Hollywood-February 3rd 1901 Pacific Coast League President DW Griffith has released a statement indicating his League will assume the status of "Major League" beginning with the upcoming 1901 Season. Griffith was quoted as saying "As our League is the top association of Baseball clubs west of the Missisipi, it is only proper that we take our place alongside the top Leagues of the East. We plan to pursue the best Players from around the country and fully intend to offer any player now residing with any other club top Dollar to play in the sunny west" Griffith also indicated the Leagues San Diego franchise would relocate to Vernon for the 1901 Season under the new ownership of industial Tycoon George Westinghouse. Griffith also indicated he would be open to trade amongst the National and newly formed American League Teams if they so desired to bid for the "finest Players one could find in this great land of America" News of Griffith's intentions were not met well by either Ban Johnson or NL President Harry Pulliam, how tried without success to convince his owners to consider a treaty with Johnson and work against the upstart from California, who was regarded as reckless by both National and American League owners. Pulliam also believed that a treaty with the well organized AL would prevent roster raids and allow for an agreement to be reached protecting both Leagues, not only from each other, but the PCL as well. The NL owners promptly dismissed such notions, believing that their Players would not dare jump to either circuit. This belief lasted until the start of Spring Training, when instead of Nap LaJoie, Philadelphia Owner Al Reach received a Telegram..... Dear Mr Reach Stop It is with some regret Stop That though I must inform you of my plan to play next Season in Philadelphia Stop The Team Will be the Athletics Stop Not the Phillies Stop Regards Napolean LaJoie This was the first Salvo of the greatest shakeup in the history of the sport, as both side scrambled to keep, find or entice the best Players to complete their Nines for the upcoming Season. Curiously absent from the mayhem was DW Griffith, who planned to watch the other Leagues implode under the increased financial duress, then swoop in and stock his League from the carcusses of failed Teams. His reason was simple, his Teams did not possess the financial backing he portrayed and he knew it could not compete on even terms. Therefore he would advise his owners to be patient and let the American and National League Teams ruin each other. The tactic instead, caused Griffith's Teams to lose some of their own Players, not endearing him to League ownership as the 1901 Season dawned. |
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06-13-2006, 12:20 AM
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#7 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1901 Summary
Pre-Season
The defection of Lajoie from the Phillies is just the beginning as scores of NL Players jump ship to the fledging American League with the Owners powerless to stop them. Cy Young, John McGraw, Jimmy Collins, Wid Conroy, Nig Cuppy and Clark Griffith head the list of “turncoats” as the American League achieves instant legitimacy in the eyes of the Baseball adoring public. DW Griffith holds his owners to his moratorium of not pursuing National League Stars for the 1901 Season, yet nonetheless has a bombshell of his own. In a bold action Griffith declares that the PCL will not draw the Color line and encourages his owners to sign black Players. The only Team to follow this directive however, is the Portland Beavers. Owned by Pacific Lumber, the forward thinking Beavers immediately sign Rube Foster, William Malone, George Stovey, Frank Grant, Sol White and Clarenc Williams. Despite being based in probably the most tolerant part of the country the Players will take savage verbal abuse on the Road, and on occasion, even their Home Park. Remaining grimly determined the six take it out on the rest of the League. Note: I did not assign all these players to the team, I let them import as free agents and Portland truly signed them all on the same day no less. (I know the game is deep but could Markus have programmed the racial intolerance of the time in as well?)  Regular Season Portland, buoyed by the Six Negro Leaguers runs away with the PCL by an astounding 41 games over second place Salt Lake. Malone 31-3 1.26, Foster 28-8 1.05 and Stovey 26-7 1.15 dominate PCL hitters. The Beavers are led on offense by Grant Johnson .337 5 88. Frank Grant .311 6 48, Williams .305 7 83 and White .284 2 58 are also solid. Ron Quinn .244 10 43 supplied the power for the Bees who also got a great effort on the Mound from Randy Bayles 20-10 1.80. In the NL a strong Pittsburgh squad rode the arms of Jesse Tannehill 30-9 2.51, Rube Waddell 16-13 2.66 (League best 227 K’s) and Sam Leever 12-9 3.84 to pull away from Al Reach’s Phillies in the last Month of the Season. The Pirates hit an NL best .280 as a team, led by Ginger Beaumont.364 10 84, Honus Wagner .315 5 81, 76 Steals and Fred Clarke .314 9 76, 77 Steals. Philadelphia got a huge Season from Ed Delahanty .338 8 95 and Third place Chicago boasted Topsy Hartsel .313 8 80, 74 Steals and the arm of Jack Taylor 25-14 3.43. In the AL the Boston Americans led by Rookie Win Kellum 22-7 2.27 and NL defectors Nig Cuppy 23-14 3.60 , Cy Young 18-16 3.76, Chick Stahl .323 5 62 and Jimmy Collins .312 3 95 held off Nap Lajoie’s Athletics to take the first AL pennant. The best story on Boston’s roster though belonged to journeyman Catcher Ossie Schreckengost. Cast off by Von Der Ahe in St Louis after the 1899 Season, Schreck came back after a year away from the game to hit .352 for the Americans. Lajoie, as expected paced the A’s at .345 11 77, with a big assist on Offense from Socks Seybold, a career minor Leaguer who also hit .345 to go with an AL best 16 Homers and 121 RBI’s.. At the end of the campaign Pirate owner Barney Dreyfuss challenged the Kennedy’s to a best of 7 series between his team and Boston to “establish National League superiority” Joseph Kennedy accepted, promising his Americans would prove equal to any NL Team. Gifford Pinchot, head of forestry in Oregon and a major investor in the Beavers Baseball club demanded inclusion as well however; Dreyfuss, refused to meet a team fielding black players and the PCL winner was left out in the cold. Angered, Pinchot instead arranged a series between his team and the second place Bee’s for the inaugural PCL Temple Cup. Note Milwaukee AL Franchise moves to St Louis after the Season Last edited by BYU 14 : 06-13-2006 at 01:20 AM. |
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06-13-2006, 12:47 AM
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1901 Almanac
Standings
American League
PCL
Dreyfuss Challenge-Best of seven Pittsburgh 4 Boston 2 Temple Cup-Best of five Portland 3 Salt Lake 1 League Leaders NL
AL
PCL
Award Winners Diamond Ace Award NL-Jesse Tannehill Pittsburgh 30-9, 2.51 ERA AL-Win Kellum Boston 22-7, 2.27 ERA PCL-William Malone Portland 31-3, 1.26 ERA Silver Slugger Award NL-Ed Delahanty Philadelphia .338 Avg 8 HR 95 RBI AL-John Anderson Milwaukee .357 Avg 13 HR 94 RBI PCL-Grant Johnson Portland .337 Avg 5 HR 88 RBI Rookie of the Year Award NL-Christy Matthewson New York 21-19, 2.68 ERA AL-Win Kellum Boston 22-7, 2.27 ERA PCL-Rube Foster Portland 28-8, 1.05 ERA |
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06-13-2006, 12:49 AM
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#9 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1902 Summary
Pre-Season
As the 1902 Season drew near DW Griffith decided it was time to strike and encouraged his owners to pursue Players from the two Eastern Major Leagues. Following his directive PCL owners flooded players from the AL and NL with telegrams. The ploy was designed to place the PCL on equal footing and force their inclusion into the competition for the title of top Baseball League in America. The only problem was many established players still regarded the PCL as a bush league and were reluctant to bite. The PCL did steal some players of note but no top names as hoped. Perhaps the biggest coup was 21 year old Davy Jones. Set to be a Rookie with the Tigers, who had purchased him from El Paso, Jones spurned Detroit to play close to home, leaving Tiger owner Frank Lavin fuming! Signing with Vernon Jones took the PCL by storm hitting .397! One fairly big name that made the jump was Kip Selbach, the 32 year old veteran bailed out on his contract with the Giants after starting every game in 1901 and hitting .281. A career .316 hitter, Selbach stroked PCL pitching to the tune of .383 joining Jones on the Vernon Tiger squad. Apart from this it was fringe players (Mike Grady, Al Maul, Heinie Pietz) or those past their prime (Duke Farrell, Gus Weyhing) that also chose to sign. Weyhing in particular is a notable example. A 309 game winner over his career in the majors, Gus, now 36 had actually been released by Cleveland after going 12-14 3.32 in 1901. It was clear his best years were behind him as he turned in a 10-15 4.89 performance for the Los Angeles Angles in 1902, hardly the type of effort a Major League Team would miss. The biggest shock of the off-season however came when some NL and AL teams signed PCL players! Harry Felix in particular set the NL on its Ear going 21-13 and leading the circuit in ERA with a stellar 1.84. Still, the transaction that surpassed all others in this area was the signing of 36 year old George Stovey from Portland by the Chicago Orphans. Other NL owners were furious that the color line had been broken and demand an explanation from the Wrigley family. The explanation they got was that it was rumored that the aging Stovey had a dead arm after his dominating performance with Portland in 1901. The reasoning was, if true, a poor performance would discredit both the PCL and the idea that the color line should be removed permanently from the big Leagues. Though skeptical, the others relented. Stovey for his part did not uphold the bargain. Though used sparingly in only 16 relief appearances, George still went 6-3 with 4 saves and a 2.18 ERA. Not really the type of performance to lend credence to the NL owners underhanded plot. Coupled with Felix’ performance, by the end of the year both arguments, in fact, were pretty much dashed. Ban Johnson, a fair and just Man, and one sick of dealing with corruption and exclusion found out the reasoning behind Stovey’s signing and encouraged AL owners to erase the color line for good. Regular Season In the NL race the Pirates repeated by 5 games over Cincinnati, finishing 17-5 the final Month of the Season to wrap it up after going a combined 25-28 in July and August. Once again Jesse Tannehill led the way going 30-9 2.16, carrying the Team on his back down the stretch. Happy Jack Chesbro chipped in a 23-15 2.63 campaign, but no other Pirate Starter hit double figures. The worst of it came in June when Rube Waddell, 9-2 with a 2.08 ERA and leading the League in K’s at the time ruptured his triceps muscle in the 4th inning against St Louis. Waddell was lost not only for the Season, but may not be back until July of 1903, if ever. The lineup did not have the pop of 1901 either, with only Ginger Beaumont (.333) hitting over .300. Cincinnati led at various times of the year behind Fireballing Noodles Hahn 21-17 2.54 233 K. The true strength of the Reds though were their bats with Home Run king Sam Crawford .320 14 67 leading the way. John Dobbs .301, 41 steals and SS George Magoon whose .319 Season was 54 points above his career average also were threats. The Phillies boasted two 20 game winners (Felix and Doc White) and the lethal trio of Elmer Flick .318, Ed Delahanty .305 and George Browne .300, but didn’t have enough depth to overtake the Pirates or Reds. In the AL things couldn’t have been anymore exciting as Baltimore, Boston and Philadelphia ended the year tied at 77-63. A three day round robin was scheduled and Boston beat both teams to secure their second straight pennant. After a 5-2 win over Baltimore in the first game, Win Kellum out dueled Philly ace Eddie Plank in a thrilling 1-0 contest to clinch it. Besides Kellum who finished the year 19-12 2.62, the Americans also had George Winter 18-10 2.42, Nig Cuppy 16-17 2.99 and the ageless Cy Young 15-8 2.59 in double figures. Kennedy’s crew had no big bats on Offense, but LF Patsy Dougherty .290, CF Chick Stahl .284 and C Ossee Schreckengost .282 were all adequate. Philly worked their way into the end of Season playoff behind a potent attack featuring Nap Lajoie .340 5 74, Matty Mcintyre .334 3 64 and Danny Murphy .327. Socks Seybold again knocked in over 100 runs and hit .305 as well. The Achilles heel was pitching as after Plank 23-8 2.10, the remaining starters were 41-41 with an ERA of nearly 3.5. Baltimore relied on the Iron Man trio of Harry Howell 22-13 3.60, Ed Poole 22-18 3.00 and Dummy Taylor 20-19 3.38 as each piled up 325 innings pitched or more. The O’s also have arguably the most exciting young player in the Game in Mike Donlin .352 11 105, plus 38 steals. With four other regulars over .300 the Orioles are potent as their .277 Team averages shows. Their Team ERA however was 3.34, only last place Washington was worse. The PCL saw a rapid descent from glory as Portland tumbled to 3rd, seven games behind the pennant winning Bee’s, who were led by 23-13 Steve Learmonth. The second best offense in the slugging PCL had five starters over .300 led by PCL batting Champ Clarenc Williams (.417), signed from Portland in the off-Season. Former Major Leaguer Duke Farrell, thought to be washed up at 37, responded with a .370 mark and 92 runs scored in his PCL debut. Vernon scored a coup stealing Davy Jones from Detroit and luring Kip Selbach from the Giants. Both men tore up the PCL hitting .397 and .383 respectively in the thin air against the mediocre pitching. Selbach also added 46 steals showing he has lost no spring in his step. Last years Champ Portland could not make up for losing Stovey and Williams. Sol White hit .388 and Grant Johnson hit .380 to go with another solid Season from Rube Foster 23-9 2.85 but it was not enough to offset the losses. Another factor was William Malone being hurt off and on through the year, though most Pitchers would still take his 19-6 2.47 numbers. Notes No Hall of Fame inductees Baltimore AL Franchise moves to New York after the Season Last edited by BYU 14 : 06-13-2006 at 01:19 AM. |
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06-13-2006, 01:18 AM
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1902 Almanac
Standings
American League
PCL
Now it is the Kennedy’s issuing a challenge and a confident Dreyfuss accepts, only this time………… Kennedy Challenge Cup-Best of seven Boston 4 Pittsburgh 3 Temple Cup-Best of five Salt Lake 3 Vernon 2 League Leaders NL
AL
PCL
Awards Winners Diamond Ace Award NL-Jesse Tannehill Pittsburgh 30-9, 2.16 ERA AL-Eddie Plank Philadelphia 23-8, 2.10 ERA PCL-Rube Foster Portland 23-9, 2.85 ERA Silver Slugger Award NL-Jimmy Sheckard Brooklyn .341 Avg 9 HR 61 RBI AL- Mike Donlin Baltimore .352 Avg 11 HR 105 RBI PCL-Clarenc Williams Salt Lake .417 Avg 6 HR 107 RBI Rookie of the Year Award NL-Harry Felix Philadelphia 21-13, 1.84 ERA AL-Danny Murphy Philadelphia .327 Avg 1 HR 37 RBI PCL-Davy Jones Vernon .397 Avg 0 HR 71 RBI |
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06-13-2006, 01:21 AM
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#11 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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An uneasy quiet
December 1902 sees all sides back in court at the behest of the National Leagues attornies. At issue is the roster raiding, which all sides fear will soon spiral out of control. To combat this the National Leagues attempts to reinstitute the reserve clause, a proposal that promptly come under heavy fire from both the PCL and the American League. The new Judge, a graying firebrand named Kenesaw Mountain Landis is brought to rage by the bickering. He strikes down the request for the reserve clause, then goes on to reprimand all sides for the subterfuge regarding contracts.
Judge Landis rules that any party attempting to sign a player already under valid contract will be subject to an automatic fine of up to $50,000.00 and mandatory Jail time of 30 Days. He then goes on to state that when a Player is no longer under contract, he shall be fair game for any and all prospective employers, free to negotiate as the Player sees fit. John T brush cries out that this ruling is tantamount to blasphemy, that players were in escence then free to serve as their own agent, and that the rights of the employing club are non-existant. Landis angrily pounds his Gavel and threaten to hold Brush in contempt.....Landis stares squarely at the Giants owner "You Mr. Brush are correct...these Players will have the rights that exist for any gainfully employed Citizen of these United States, once they have satisfied the terms of their contract in good faith" He continues "And since you are so eloquent in your rebuttals I hearby decree that the time period occuring after the expiration of the players contract, shall be declared...free agency!" Most owners are furious, but dare not incur the wrath of the sullen Judge. Landis addresses a second injunction brought by the National League regarding integration of the game......Landis rules that, while Owners can not be forced to hire an individual of any background, they are also forbidden from excluding anyone for that reason. "The game is for all of America" snarls the Judge, "Therefore all of America shall be entitled to play at the professional level!" DW Griffith, always with a monetary agenda approaches Judge Landis and submits that all professional Leagues should also have their Champions meet in a post Season playoff winner takes all receipts......Not surprised at Griffith's greedy curveball, yet unprepared to respond, both sides attornies request a recess to prepare a proper response to this request, which was not on the original docket. Pulliam, Johnson and their attornies now seclude themselves....and when they return a scant two hours later they have a contract to submit to the Judge. Pulliam starts..."Your honor, Mr. Johnson and myself, acting on the power and proxy bestowed upon us by our respective owners....present this contract." The contract outlines a working agreement between the American and National Leagues, agreeing to abide by todays decisions, to meet and have bylaws in place prior to March 1st, 1903.....To operate and exist as a sole professional entity including both Leagues under the banner of the "Universal Baseball Association" One of the proposals up for discussion prior to this deadline is a fomalization of an organized, governed and reoccuring post-Season meeting of the League Champions of the members under this agreement I.E. the American and National Leagues...........Now Griffith has been cruved and left in the lerch...yet despite his objections, and objections of several owners on both sides that last well into the evening, Judge Landis finally and firmly ratifies the agreement between the two Leagues. And with that.....The World Series is born. |
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06-13-2006, 01:25 AM
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#12 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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A bustling Market-1902 Off Season transactions
1902 Off Seasons major transactions
The PCL is busy in the off Season scooping up aging Major Leaguers to fill the stands and gain credibility. Cy Young in particular is a huge coup. Though 36 Years old he is coming off of a 15-8 Campaign and still seems serviceable…..This is the signing that could open the Flood gates! NL/ALSaturday, February 21st, 1903Saturday, November 29th, 1902Friday, November 28th, 1902Monday, November 24th, 1902Sunday, November 23rd, 1902Saturday, November 22nd, 1902Friday, November 21st, 1902Tuesday, November 18th, 1902Friday, April 10th, 1903 |
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06-13-2006, 01:27 AM
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#13 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1903 Summary
Pre-Season
Though the pre-season is devoid of legal issues, there is still plenty of talk concerning the PCL’s signings of Cy Young and Jimmy Collins from the Boston Americans. The two biggest names of several more Players to make the jump, Young takes his 367 Career victories to lace, where he states he has always wanted to spend time. “Money was no issue for me, no matter what no one tells you” Young went on to explain he just felt the desire to get out of the crowded cities of the East and enjoy himself. Collins departure however, came on the heels of a bitter fallout with Joseph Kennedy, who criticized his Third Baseman’s slide to a .248 average. Collins played every game for the Americans and played stellar Defense, but could not find his hitting groove. A .304 Lifetime hitter, he feels he will rebound in the thin air of the PCL. Almost unnoticed in the hoopla of Young and Collins was the quiet return of George Stovey to Another big story centered around the comeback of Rube Waddell. With a slated return of June, Waddell will have been gone for over a year from the game, and many, knowing his simple nature are worried he may never be the Pitcher he was. When asked how is rehab was progressing Waddell stated he was doing a lot of Fishing, and spending time riding Fire Engines with a volunteer Fire company near his House. He want on to say he was confident of a successful return and when asked why stated. “Well riding Fire Trucks is really exciting and it makes me feel good…I think that will help” Regular Season Starting in the PCL, the good word is increased attendance and wider national press in the wake of recent signings. Portland, happy to have George Stovey back , returns to grace taking the Temple Cup in a sweep over San Francisco, after finishing second in the regular Season in a tight race. Stovey proves he can still pitch, leading the Team in wins going 21-14 2.29 racking up 318 innings. Rube Foster chips in at 19-13 2.10. Grant Johnson continues to wear out PCL pitching hitting .365 6 65, while Sol White .363 and Frank Grant hits .348. SS Johnson is known as the to Beaver fans while White and Grant at 3B and 2B respectively, are called the black Diamonds. San Francisco, led by ex Major Leaguers Joe Sugden .362, Candy LaChance .341 and Mike Grady .283 look fearsome in taking the regular Season crown before their Temple Cup In the NL it is still all about the Pirate Juggernaught. Though taken to the wire by Chicago, Pittsburgh brought Barney Dreyfuss his third straight pennant and a chance to exact revenge on the AL in the first official World Series. Led again by Honus Wagner .298 5 77 and Ginger Beaumont .313 8 61 the Pirates proved to have just enough to hold the Orphans off at the end. A big part of that was the usual outstanding work of Jessie Tannehill 26-13 1.90 logging a remarkable 350 innings along the way. Jack Chesbro 14-6 2.60 chipped in, but the difference maker in the end was the triumphant return of Waddell. Leaving his Fire Trucks behind, the Rube returned in mid June and went 11-4 1.79 the rest of way amazing all who witnessed him. Even more amazing was his 165 Strikeouts in just 181 innings pitched. Chicago fell just short playing consistent ball all year behind their peerless Leader Frank Chance .315 0 37 41 SB. Topsy Hartsel .318 4 68 added 40 steals of his own as did CF Danny Green. A big spark was also provided by a plucky Rookie named Johnny Evers. Though he hit just .244, the cocky second sacker knocked in 64 runs, stole 24 bases and made life hell on opposing batters and baseman alike with his reckless play and tough as nails demeanor. Jim St Vrane rebounded from a losing record in 1902 to go 26-12 1.99 heading the Orphans hurlers. Over in the AL another close race saw the newly relocated Highlanders from New York break Boston’s two year hold on the AL pennant coming in just ahead of the A’s and Tigers. John McGraw slipped to .265, but Mike Donlin .324 7 67, 3B Jimmy Williams .340, fleet LF Harry Bay .310 35 steals and Roger Bresnahan .326 with 73 RBI take up the slack. A shallow pitching staff was shouldered by Ed Poole 26-14 .50 and Charlie Shields 21-15 2.48 who toiled just under 700 innings between them. They were tired and it showed in the Highlanders 4-0 sweep at the hands of the NL champ Pirates. Philadelphia had the usual suspects leading the way again in Lajoie .409 19 88 (all bests) Socks Seybold .306 7 50 and Danny Murphy .285 4 50. A down year for Eddie Plank 11-17 3.47, was compensated for by the emergence of a 19 yr old rookie named Chief Bender 15-12 2.46, a career year by Billy Milligan 18-12 2.70 and steady relief work by Togie Pittinger 9-1 2.78. Kid Elberfield .357 2 38 was brilliant again in but didn’t get near enough help to bring it home when it mattered. |
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06-13-2006, 11:19 PM
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1903 Almanac
Standings
PCL
World Series-Best of seven Pittsburgh 4 New York 0 Temple Cup-Best of five Portland 3 San Francisco 0 League Leaders NL
AL
PCL
Awards Winners Diamond Ace Award NL-Jesse Tannehill Pittsburgh 26-13, 1.90 ERA AL-Ed Poole New York 26-14, 2.50 ERA PCL-Salomon Bonilla Seattle 19-11, 2.15 ERA Silver Slugger Award NL-Sam Crawford Cincinnati .327 Avg 19 HR 87 RBI AL- Nap Lajoie Philadelphia .409 Avg 19 HR 88 RBI PCL-Pete Hill Oakland .391 Avg 1 HR 58 RBI Rookie of the Year Award NL-Alex Pearson St Louis 15-14, 2.48 ERA AL-Rube Kisinger Detroit 21-19, 2.99 ERA PCL-Barney Wolfe San Francisco 24-13, 2.79 ERA Nap Lajoie caps a monster year with the Silver Slugger award and the distinction of being the first Triple Crown winner in History. In the NL it Jesse Tannehill is making a case for an award being named after him taking his third straight Diamond Ace award, and adding his first Gold Glove. |
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06-13-2006, 11:35 PM
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#15 | |||||||
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1903 Off Season-Major Transactions
NL/AL
PCL The Salt Lake City Bees traded 26-year old minor league second baseman F. Hozven and 18-year old minor league shortstop N. Holbrook to the Seattle Rainiers, getting 37-year old minor league starting pitcher C. Young, 18-year old minor league left fielder H. Larez and $6,000 in cash in return. Oakland Oaks: Signed free agent 2B N. Callahan to a 3-year contract worth a total of $32,860. Vernon Tigers: Signed free agent RF P. Donovan to a 2-year contract worth a total of $23,880. Oakland Oaks: Signed free agent 1B H. Davis to a 5-year contract worth a total of $56,300. Salt Lake City Bees: Signed free agent 2B W. Keeler to a 4-year contract worth a total of $42,040. Tacoma Tigers: Signed free agent 2B B. Wallace to a 3-year contract worth a total of $32,460. Last edited by BYU 14 : 06-14-2006 at 11:31 PM. |
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06-14-2006, 12:41 AM
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#16 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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Cathedrals of Green extra
Taking the Nap...
Nap Lajoie has been nothing but a nightmare to AL and NL pitchers alike tearing them up for a Career average of .349 over 8 Seasons. This includes some robust numbers against stalwart Hurlers such as: Addie Joss .550 Case Patten .359 Clark Griffith .559 Cy Young .395 Ed Walsh .429 Joe McGinnity .500 Ned Garvin .397 Noodles Hahn .429 One man however seems to be able to put Lajoie to sleep for a true Nap. Detroit journeyman Roscoe Miller has a career record of 47-38 with an ERA of 3.31. The League as a whole strokes Miller to the tune of .269, yet Lajoie has only managed to hit a paltry .159 (7 for 44) against Roscoe. He has been so frustrated against the lanky 28 yr old, that Miller's Tiger teammates have taken to razzing Napolean with chants of Waterloo when he bats against "Wellington." The normally unflappable Lajoie was ridden so hard by Detroit's Fiery infielder Kid Elberfield in one game. He charged into the Tigers dugout demanding Elberfield meet him under the Stands then and there. The "Tabasco Kid" was happy to oblige, but cooler Heads prevailed and Lajoie was escorted back to his bench, enroute to an 0-4 performance against Miller. Time will tell if Miller indeed remains Nap's Waterloo, or if the talented Frenchman will conquer the Tiger moundsman, as he has done routinely, to so many others, who toe the "Bump" in the Cathedrals of Green. Last edited by BYU 14 : 06-14-2006 at 07:55 AM. |
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06-15-2006, 12:07 AM
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#17 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1904 Summary
Pre-Season
A discernable trend is starting to develop as it seems both NL and AL owners have begun to see the PCL as a negotiating with veteran players. Knowing the the PCL can not afford Major League salaries, owners begin to lowball players, telling them if they don't like the offer they can go join the PCL Circus for Peanuts. The play, unfortunately backfires as several more notable Players place pride and principal above Money and defect. Though Patsy Donovan is 39 and on the backside of great days, Wee Willie Keeler, Harry Davis, Nixey Callahan and Bobby Wallace are all between 30 and 32 and have many good Seasons ahead of them. The UBA owners must surely see that they are giving the PCL Major League Status with their inconsistent negotiating tactics. Going into the Season Cleveland's Otto Hess, whose Elbow was shattered by a line drive in July of 1903 still looks to sidelined until August. Reigning PCL Diamond Ace winner Salomon Bonilla will also start the Season on the DL rehabbing a torn Tricep muscle, though he should be back by early May. Rookies to Watch Hal Chase 1B-Highlanders, George Stovall 1B-Bronchos, Andy Coakley P-Athletics, Bris Lord LF-Athletics and Frank Schulte RF-Cubs. Regular Season Starting in the NL The Phillies looked to have the offensive punch to break Pittsburgh’s hold on the pennant, surprisingly, it was not the likes of Delahanty .265 or Flick .281 that led the Phillies Offense, but a 19 year old rookie named Sherry Magee who came through with an overage of .300, 8 HR’s, 66 RBI and 44 Steals. As a team the Phil’s hit just .255, but had a Team ERA of 2.04!! The potent staff was led by yet another Rookie, Ralph Caldwell 26-6, 1.52 ERA, while 1902 ROTY Harry Felix rebounded from a horrendous sophomore campaign of 12-19, to go 22-12, 2.28. Other contributors were Doc White 16-9, 2.31 and Stan Iburg with a 1.01 ERA and 4 saves out of the pen. Roy Patterson came over from the White Sox at the end of July and went 8-3, 2.10 down the stretch. The Pirates struggled throughout the Season offensively with only Wagner .297 and Beaumont .290 close to .300. Rube Waddell at 18-10, 2.07 kept the staff afloat as the previously unbeatable Jesse Tannehill fell to 18-21, 2.50. Outside of these two the Pirates tried five other Pitchers to fill the 3 and 4 spots and they combined for a record of 31-30. The Bucs picked up Nap Lajoie for Tommy Leach just before the Deadline in what looked like a brilliant move. Lajoie however hit just .293 with no HR’s and just 20 RBI in 53 games before departing via free agency to the White Sox. In the ALthe Detroit Tigers were solid in all areas to grab the pennant in a close three team race over Boston and St Louis. Detroit was led as usual at the plate by Kid Elberfield .302. After Harry Arndt (.288) however no Tiger starter hit over .273. But, with a pitching staff that got strong performances from Rube Kisinger 26-13, 2.21, George Mullin 16-12 2.67 and a career year from Lajoie’s nemesis Roscoe Miller 17-12, 2.47 the Motor City nine had enough to hold off hard charging Billy Gilbert .335, 47 Steals, 75 runs and the Browns, who also got strong work from on the hill from the trio of Harry Howell 27-12, 1.79, Bert Husting 25-12, 1.60 and Ned Garvin 20-15, 2.64. Lack of depth did the Browns in here though as the rest of the Staff was a combined 8-21. Boston got great years at the plate from Patsy Dougherty .341 2 45 and Ossee Schreckengost .335, but little help from the rest of the lineup. The PCL race saw Portland take their third Temple cup in four Seasons behind Fan favorite Sol White .353 5 52 and Grant Johnson .317 3 42. Rube Foster went 23-13 1.77, while Dave Stoneman was 21-8 2.75 for the Beavers who took Pennant winning Vernon 3 games to 2 in the Cup, despite finishing 16 games behind the Tigers in the regular Season. Vernon was devastated by their post Season collapse after cruising home behind Baseball’s best offense that included six Regulars (Davy Jones .368, Jimmy Collins .356, Kip Selbach .323, Deacon McGuire .333, Charlie Irwin .309 and Ducky Holmes .307) over .300. It is also interesting to note that all 6 are former Major Leaguers. Harry Kane 23-8, 2.01 and Kid Carsey 22-6, 3.05 led the Pitching staff as Carsey won more games for the Tigers as he had over his final five Seasons (21) combined in the Majors. World Series Detroit made short work of the Phillies behind the resurgent Roscoe Miller 2-0 0.56 and Doc Gessler .333 in the Fall classic |
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06-15-2006, 12:30 AM
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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1904 Alamanac
Standings
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